Speaking of which:we have an abiding love for Victoria Wood.We saw her live at the Royal Albert Hall,and my younger son rather surprisingly learnt to sing all the words toThe Ballad of Freda and Barry with a lively piano accompaniment.He saw her only recently enjoying a meal in Borough Market with friendsbut was too shy to interrupt her.

62?Perhaps I should now read War and Peaceas Mary Hobson did.So moved was she, that she started to learn Russian while convalescing age 56, so that she could read the original and then enrolled at the University of London at age 62and completed her PhD aged 74.She won the Pushkin Gold Medal for translation.Oh and she is now at 89 in training for a 5km run.